Mistakes to Avoid Before and After a Mobile App Launch in 2020

With the increase in demand for smartphones, the number of applications in the market is likewise flooding, thereby expanding the challenges for app proprietors to stay on the top. Mobile Application Development goes through multiple stages, from Requirement Analysis to picking up an appropriate App development framework and platform, to designing and testing, and finally the most awaited stage that is the App Launch. However, along with these stages, there are a few other important points that go unnoticed and become the major reason behind the Application failure.

Are you also unconsciously committing the pre- and post-launch mistakes that are hampering your application’s success?

Being an App marketer/owner one ought to be cautious during both the pre-launch and post-launch stages and prepare a full-fledged plan considering all the related nitty-gritty, instead of settling down on shortcuts for success. Having years of experience in the sector, here listed down are some pitfalls that you should avoid during your application’s pre-launch and post-launch stages and increase your chances of success.

Mistakes to Avoid Before the App Launch

The factors that are mostly considered before the Application launch comprise of App development cycle phases. As the developers put all of their endeavors concentrating on these activities, other factors such as the marketing research, app store optimization, planning the release date, etc. couldn’t stand out enough to be noticed, prompting the Application failure. If you are also dealing with the same situation and pondering about the hidden reasons for your Application failure despite investing so much effort, here are the most common mistakes that should be dodged before the App launch.

Insufficient Beta Testing

Beta Testing, a type of Acceptance Testing, gives you real user feedback which can be used to make improvements in the software before making it public. Beta Testing is done by a specific set of users in the real-life environment, reducing the probability of product failure in the future, and increasing customer satisfaction.

Beta testing is done in the final stages of the Software Development Lifecycle when the Software is almost completed and ready for the release. Lack of proper Beta Testing might prevent you from discovering the hidden error, leading to a software crash, which is considered to be the reason behind 71% application uninstallation by Forbes and ruining the company’s reputation as well.

Inadequate App Store Optimization

“63% Apps are found by searches made in the App Store”- Forrester.

Getting your Application found among more than 2 million apps present in the App Store, is the biggest challenge faced by the Application proprietors. The concept of App Store Optimisation is based on the Search Engine Optimisation techniques, working on the keywords and title of the Application. The higher is the ranking of your application, the more is the probability of discovering the app at the App Store. An inadequate App Store Optimisation can restrict the app to a few users, hampering the chances of its success.

Keep a tap on the App Store guidelines

Before the Application launch, it is extremely important for a developer/ proprietor that the application abides by the guidelines of the App Store and Google play store. Your application can only be launched, once your app covers all the guidelines regarding the accuracy, crash and failure, UI Kit, App Kit, Watch Kit, Human Interface Kit, developer policies, etc. else it might get rejected. One should keep a tap on these guidelines, to ensure a successful App launch.

Skipping the Pre-launch Marketing Research and Campaign

Marketing plays a momentous role in the success of a product as well as of the organization. Strategic marketing in the pre-launch stage of an application – more like a process of targeting the right audience, creating the need, and then presenting the solution in the face of your product. However, the foremost thing before planning the marketing campaign is thorough market research to get an idea about your competitors, target audience, target marketplace, etc.

Pre-launch Marketing proves to be quite helpful in creating brand awareness through ingenious promotional schemes, reaching out to the customers, and collecting their valuable feedback to serve an accurate and effective application/product to them. Hence, vaulting the pre-launch marketing process can lead to major business losses.

Random App Release Date

Many proprietors take care of various factors related to the applications; however, do not pay enough attention to the release date of the Application, inviting the uncalled issues. Few factors should be considered while planning the App release such as an early announcement of the release date, being updated with the innovations as well as the ongoing trends in the tech world to plan a suitable date accordingly, and proper media coverage. These factors ensure that the app does not get lost among other technological innovations and gets ample attention.

Mistakes to Avoid After the App Launch

The proprietors who think that once the App gets released, all they need to pay attention to is the revenue coming from the App, are definitely holding back the success opportunities that might come way after the release of the App. This approach leads to customer dissatisfaction as well as damage to the company’s reputation. Here are the most common mistakes that should be avoided after the App launch.

Not providing the Post-launch Bug Fixing Facility

Though the Application performance is the most crucial factor for a customer/user, however, to sustain an effective relationship with the customer, it is imperative for a company to stand by the side of the customer whenever they need any App related assistance.

There are chances when the application does not perform as expected at the user end due to issues like hardware or software compatibility, improper installation, etc. It becomes the duty of the developer to offer assistance in such cases. This builds up the customer’s confidence and trust over the company or the developer, resulting in higher chances of future business deals.

Insufficient Customer Support and Interaction

Customer is an asset for a business, no matter how many customers you have for your application, each one should be dealt with care. Along with the great performance of the Application, the customer notices your attention to their problems as well. The more actively you interact with the user/customer, the more satisfied the customer is as well as the better is the promotion of your business.

Not paying enough attention to the User Reviews

The users are the best critics for an application and their reviews can prove to be a great source of some unique ideas and improvements, which can be incorporated in the App after checking its feasibility, by the developer. User Reviews can help the developers to find out the loop-holes in the Application.

It is also vital for a developer to address the problems of the user, participate in the conversations, and answer the user queries. This makes the users feel attended and taken care of, resulting in customer loyalty.

No App Update Releases

A user does not prefer an outdated app, leading to a maximum number of app uninstalls. The user demand, as well as the market trends, keeps on changing with time. To accommodate the change, it becomes extremely essential for a developer to trace down the emerging needs, and release App updates on time.

No Reward on the Promotions

Companies opt for multiple promotional strategies on both pre-launch and post-launch phases. One of the strategies is allowing the user to promote the Application and rewarding them for the same. This encourages the user to do the promotions willingly, indirectly benefiting the business.

For Example– Candy Crush rewards the users with extra lives on sending invites to their friends. However, if you do not reward the users, they abstain from participating in any promotional activities.

Not Focusing on Security

Security is one of the significant factors for both the developer as well as the user. The applications that assure the security of the user data are loved by the user, gaining their confidence as well as leading to customer retention. As a user never downloads an application that seems suspicious, the developer should make sure to assure the users about the security policies as well as parameters being considered.

Get a Real-time Crash Reporter

A customer appreciates an active developer, who listens to his suggestions as well as the issues and addresses them as soon as possible. A crash reporting tool like Crashlytics can work here as it generates a real-time crash report and helps you to track as well as fix the issues that occurred at the user end. You can connect your app and integrate the tool in the SDK in order to collect the report, which you can check in the console. The report not only provides the list of the issues but also shows the reasons or actions responsible for them.

Take Away

The Pre-launch preparations of the App hold equal importance as Post-launch attention. As a properly planned and prepared release of an Application gives more than the expected result, the proprietor should be careful as well as vigilant about the factors that are pivotal for the same.

Being a non-technical proprietor, you might not be aware of the technical and management subtleties. In fact, if you are an Application Developer and the Marketing strategies might seem like an uphill climb for you. Our Ace Professionals can help you with this and ease your expedition of App development and Marketing process. Hire an Application Developer as well as Marketing Expert, and get ready to experience the success.